Getting to the guts of it all.

My journey over the cancer seas and beyond.

I’ve always had a macabre fascination with internal body processes. The minutia of how a system works and what constitutes homeostatic balance is of great interest to me. Were it not for my lack of aptitude with science I am sure I would have become a doctor or similar in my younger years. Instead my passion for knowledge of such things has fuelled endless reading and research, even before my cancer diagnosis.

Last week I spoke with the nutritionist I am working with after my stool sample returned from Denmark. I made a choice to go this route in my pursuit of dealing with chemo resistant intestinal parasites. And I have to say that the test results were some of the most comprehensive I have ever seen. Some of it looks like rocket science to me, even after talking it all through with her. The level of her knowledge is joy to my ears and I feel a real kinship with this woman who is so keen to help me rebalance my gut biome. Nonetheless, I am relieved to find that overall my system is not in bad shape considering my passage through such invasive treatments. I will need some supplementation to rebalance some things and my liver is struggling, however, I am so grateful for where things are with me.

I put this down to many things in my environment, but a large part was played by my lovely friend who provided a highly nutritious diet over this past year. As I have said before I did not go down the vegan route with this aspect of things, it is a personal choice and each to their own. I had a full spectrum diet, the only real rules being moderation in all things, diversity, masses of greens with everything and zero sugar. For myself I feel happy to know that the diet I chose has been so efficacious. There is a whisper of an idea for her to compile a book of the recipes and in time this may happen.

The parasites seem to be minimal at the moment. That is not to say I am clear, complacency is never a good thing in these matters. However, I have an option to get a prescription for mebendazole via my nutritionist come spring, which is well documented as an effective anti parasitic. Many folk who cant get prescription for this choose to use fenbendazole, indeed there is a very supportive Facebook group documenting peoples stories. Fenbendazole is the version used for animals. I know it seems crazy, but believe me when I say that when you are desperate for help with parasites, running a cancer story and your doctor is stalling because the tests didn’t come back conclusive, you would try anything too. I am lucky that my nutritionist has heard of this medication and is willing to sign post me on to a relevant doctor.

As I write this I realise how crucial it is for every cancer patient to have access to all of this information. I feel it is my duty to be feeding back on what has been non negotiable in my story. I would recommend very much for anyone with major health issues such as cancer to find a good nutritionist who can organise and demystify comprehensive testing of your gut biome. Without any doubt this is crucial. I sense that in the years to come more testing in this arena will become mainstream. We read our environments with our guts, we read the intentions of others. We hide away traumatised versions of ourselves inside and our guts become tangled.

I urge you to reach into your gut, instinctively and literally. It really is the only balanced way forward for us all.